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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A scared to feed Cocoa

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    • Cocoa
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        Cocoa is a little pig, totally food obsessed. If I put something in the palm of my hand and try to feed her, she will most likely bite my hand on accident because she gets way too excited. If I try to give her a bowl of food, she eats really fast and throws the bowl. She makes huge messes and it is honestly such a pain to clean up after her constantly. Both of the bunnies throw their food bowls all the time and its too loud, everyone in the house complains. They used to have ceramic bowls but Cocoa broke one so we don’t use they anymore. We now use metal bowls because Cocoa CAN’T break them. They have also been destroying their new hutch. They have a two story hutch connected to an xpen. They have so many toys but they always chew on the hutch instead. What can I do to solve these problems?


      • FlemishDad
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          For broken bowls, I recently got a ceramic bowl with a wood base at Petco. Not broken yet and it is a lot quieter when pushed around.


        • Sirius&Luna
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            Can you try scattering the food on the floor instead? I don’t give my buns food in bowls anymore, I just sprinkle it around their area, then they have to hop around and find it, and they don’t try and snatch bits from each other. If you scatter it in different places it will also stop her eating so fast.

            Once bunnies have decided to chew or dig on something, I find them quite singleminded. The best thing to do is put something in the way. What about a cardboard box in the place they normally chew to chew on instead?


          • Asriel and Bombur
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              I agree with the scattering. That’s why I’ve done for my boys for a while. It takes more time for them to eat them and they can’t toss something that’s not there.
              For digging/chewing I’ve always bought a grass mat to keep in their spaces. Asriel is a chronic digger, so the mat is perfect for him.


            • Cocoa
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                We tried scattering but they knocked it out of the pen and it was too messy. I can’t really block it because it’s most of the hutch


              • sarahthegemini
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                  Scatter it on a large blanket? That will contain the mess a bit. It’d be safer for Cocoa. Eating too quickly can lead to choking and scattering will slow her down.


                • Cocoa
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                    We tried a blanket but Cocoa is destructive. She eats slow enough that she doesn’t choke, she’s gotten better about it


                  • Asriel and Bombur
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                      How is scattering the pellets messy? They eat them eventually, so it’s kinda self-cleaning. Can you just put a few piles on the floor? They should be getting about 2 tbsp each, so you can put one tablespoon piles towards the middle of the pen. Putting it on some kind of grippy surface will help them from spilling everywhere. Whether it’s a towel or blanket or grass mat. Just take the item out after they’re done eating so they can’t shred it.

                      I honestly don’t know what else anyone can advise except maybe getting a self feeder, but they don’t eat enough pellets for it to really be worth it. You say she eats really fast but not fast enough to choke. If she’s eating fast enough that she hardly comes up for air and it is concerning, then yes, she could still choke. Any bunny can choke, not just the inhalers.


                    • Cocoa
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                        They knock the pellets out of the pen which is how its messy. They actually get more pellets than that, they were underweight so the vet gave them a new diet. She does pick her head up while she’s eating, she just goes kinda insane when she hears me making food so when I set it down she spills it


                      • Wick & Fable
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                          If they eat the pellets in one-go, perhaps get an open box/container that’s large, cut a small entrance hole into it, and feed them pellets in there, so it’s more contained?

                          The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


                        • KRS10
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                            What about a treat dispenser? I have one for my Netherland Dwarf and she loves it. I put half of her pellets in her bowl and the other half in her treat ball for entertainment while I’m at work. It only lets out a pellet or two at a time and they snarf them right up, so not messy at all. Might also serve as a distraction from treating their house like a chew toy.


                          • DanaNM
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                              What about a heavy ceramic dog bowl? Or even something like a shallow casserole dish? Too heavy for them to toss around, but would keep them contained?

                              I also like the idea of pellet dispenser. They actually encourage them to toss them around, but the pellets come out slowly so they will eat them as they fall out. I think I remember Wick showing how to make one out a paper towel roll?

                              . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  


                            • jerseygirl
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                                Yes, the treat dispenser is such a good idea. It’s entertaining for them and for us to watch them use it also.
                                Jersey used to like it. You could bring them out of the hutch when you give it to them. It would probably be noisy them using it in the hutch, especially the plastic ball type.

                                Another thing you might like to look into clicker training and she gets her pellet ration bit by bit, as a reward for the activity.You could just drop it down for her to eat instead of from your fingers, if she has tendency to be too enthusiatic.


                              • jerseygirl
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                                  They have also been destroying their new hutch. They have a two story hutch connected to an xpen. They have so many toys but they always chew on the hutch instead. What can I do to solve these problems?

                                  Lots of rabbits are just attracted to solid wood they can sink their teeth into. I know with mine, I couldn’t use hutches without it being chewed down. I avoid fixed wood in the room as I know it would get gnawed on at night when it’s the most annoying.

                                  It would be tricky to over come this… you’d either need to do away with the hutch altogether, or try line areas with hard plastic or metal so it can’t be easily damaged. Is it edges they mostly chew? Like the door frames? Those are areas they can get their teeth onto. You might be able to find some right-angle profile lengths at a hardware store to fix down with screws on the problem areas.
                                  Things like this –

                                  Image result for right-angle profile lengths

                                  Image result for right-angle profile lengths

                                  I would then give them something solid in the pen that they can chew on when it doesn’t bother anyone. Something like this activity table or wooden hidy house, for example.  As long as they cannot use it as a launch spot to get out of the pen!!

                                   Image result for rabbit activity table
                                    Image result for wooden rabbit hideaway


                                • Cocoa
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                                    They have a treat dispenser but Cocoa doesnt like it. We were able to put a border thing around the edge of the pen so no more mess. Today I actually let Lily run around the kitchen for a while, she loves my dogs and they groom each other. The dogs are trained to not touch food if we tell them not to so I can leave a treat on the ground for her. We have tried heavy ceramic bowls but Cocoa is apparently a genius and managed to break that. I have no clue how she did that. When I let them run around in their hallway today, Lily managed to unlock the food bin so I just left it open while they were out to distract them from breaking everything. Is it harmful for them to chew on the hutch? I was just going to let them pretty much destroy it then get rid of it so they just live in a pen. I actually really like the table thing in the second to last picture, can you post a link for that? Im also thinking about getting them a tunnel to run through because they seem to like stuff like that

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                                Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A scared to feed Cocoa